Non-alcoholic drink sales are surging in recent years (2024)

BUZZ. BETWEEN AUGUST 2021 AND 2022, $395 MILLION IN NONALCOHOLIC BEER, WINE AND SPIRITS WERE SOLD IN THE US UP. 20% FROM THE PRIOR YEAR IN THE MARKET. OVERALL, THERE’S PROBABLY NORTH OF 2000 TYPES OF PRODUCTS. PAT DOOLING IS FOUNDER OF DRE DRINKS, A BOTTLE SHOP IN BOSTON’S SOUTH END WHERE ALL THE BEVERAGES ARE ALCOHOL FREE. DRE, FOR ME, WAS BORN MORE OF A PERSONAL CHOICE. I QUIT DRINKING ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO AND WAS KIND OF THINKING ABOUT A CAREER CHANGE ANYWAY, BUT IT WAS SUCH A POWERFUL CHANGE IN MY LIFE AND SO POSITIVE AND IMPACTFUL IN WAYS I DIDN’T EVEN THINK ABOUT BEFORE THAT I FELT LIKE, I’VE GOT TO SHARE THIS WITH PEOPLE. DRE REFERS TO AN OLD HORSE DRAWN WAGON THAT WOULD DELIVER GOODS, INCLUDING ALCOHOL. IT’S SUCH A GREAT CONCEPT, BUT WHEN YOU FLIP IT ON ITS HEAD AND SO OUR UTILIZATION OF THE MEETING IS MORE BEING ON THE WAGON. DRE ALSO SOUNDS A LOT LIKE DRIVE, WHICH WORKS PRETTY WELL. DOOLING AND HIS TEAM HAVE SAMPLED AND SELECTED A COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 300 NONALCOHOLIC BEERS, WINES AND SPIRITS. WE’RE GOING TO MAKE A NONALCOHOLIC MANHATTAN co*ckTAIL WITH THE SPIRITS IN PARTICULAR. THEY HAVEN’T GOTTEN TO THE POINT, I WOULD SAY, WHERE YOU CAN SIP THEM NEAT, BUT THEY’RE GREAT FOR co*ckTAILS AND co*ckTAILS AND CULTURE. AND NONALCOHOLIC IS HUGE. MANY OF THE PEOPLE WE SPOKE WITH WHO LIVE ALCOHOL FREE SAY THAT BEING RELEGATED TO THE KIDS DRINK MENU CAN FEEL ISOLATING. IT’S SUCH A POWERFUL THING FOR PEOPLE TO FEEL A PART OF IN A GROUP YOU REPLACE AN ALTERNATIVE DRINK WITH SOMETHING THAT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DRINKING. IT MAKES NOT DRINKING FEEL LIKE IT COULD BECOME MORE THE NORM. BUT LIKE SOBRIETY, SUPPORT GROUPS, ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL NONALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE NOT NECESSARILY SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE IN RECOVERY. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND SOMEONE IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THEIR SOBRIETY WALKING THROUGH OUR DOORS AND PICKING UP SOMETHING THAT LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE WHAT THEY WERE JUST DRINKING, GETTING SOBER HERE IN THE CITY WAS REALLY HARD. BEING THAT WE’RE JUST JUST SUCH AN ALCOHOL FORWARD CITY. CAMILA DE LA VEGA MALDONADO HAS BEEN SUBSTANCE FREE FOR EIGHT YEARS AND WAS A DRE CUSTOMER BEFORE SHE JOINED THE TEAM, HAVING ACCESSIBILITY TO NONALCOHOLIC OPTIONS. THIS NEW INFORMATION AND THIS NEW ACCESS CHANGED THE COURSE OF MY FAMILY. IT CHANGES THE COURSE OF GENERATIONS AFTER ME IN THE TRUE SPIRIT OF INCLUSION, THESE ZERO PROOF OPTIONS ARE NOT JUST JUST FOR PEOPLE IN RECOVERY. PROBABLY 90% OF THE PEOPLE THAT SHOP HERE STILL CONSUME SOME ALCOHOL, BUT THEY’RE CHANGING THEIR HABITS IN SUBTLE WAYS. PEOPLE ARE MAKING THE CHOICE TO NOT DRINK FOR A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT REASONS. MAYBE IT’S FOREVER, BUT MAYBE IT’S FOR A DAY, A WEEK, A MONTH, YOU NAME IT. INSIDE DRE ARE CANS OF THE BEST SELLING NON ALCOHOLIC BEER IN THE US, BREWED RIGHT HERE IN NEW ENGLAND. IT KIND OF STARTS WITH BILL AND HIS PREMISE EARLY ON WAS IF SOMEBODY COULD MAKE A NONALCOHOLIC BEER TASTE GREAT, THEY WITH THE EXISTING PROCESSES, THEY PROBABLY WOULD HAVE ALREADY. IT JUST SEEMED LIKE A HUGE UNMET NEED IN THE WORLD. JOHN WALKER AND BILL SHUFELT ARE FOUNDERS OF ATHLETIC BREWING COMPANY, HEAD QUARTERED IN MILFORD, CONNECTICUT. I STOPPED DRINKING ABOUT TEN PLUS YEARS AGO FOR JUST HEALTHY LIFESTYLE REASONS. I JUST REALLY MISSED A GREAT BEER, AND I COULDN’T BELIEVE HOW BAD THE OPTIONS WERE WITH ABSOLUTELY NO BREWING EXPERIENCE OF HIS OWN, THE FORMER WALL STREET TRADER QUIT HIS JOB. THEN CONVINCED WALKER AN AWARD WINNING CRAFT BREWER, TO MOVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND THEY GOT TO WORK. HIS DESIRE AND PASSION TO KIND OF CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE THOUGHT ABOUT DRINKING WAS REALLY EXCITING. IT KIND OF SHOCKED ME THAT NOBODY HAD THOUGHT TO INNOVATE IN THIS SPACE. OUR RUN WILD IPA, THIS IS THE BLUE ONE, AS SOME PEOPLE REFER TO IT, 65 CALORIES. AND REALLY, WHAT THIS IS, IS JUST A TOTALLY TIMELESS IPA. IT’S FUNNY YOU SAY THE BLUE ONE BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT I ALWAYS SAY, BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONE THAT I GET AND AND TO ME, THIS WAS A REVELATION. I NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THAT. THAT WAS NONALCOHOLIC. OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE DOZEN MORE BREWS, GOLDEN ALES, LIGHT BEERS AND SOURS. SINCE ITS 2017 INCEPTION, ATHLETIC HAS LAUNCHED ABOUT 50 NEW VARIETIES A YEAR. WE WANT PEOPLE JUST TO BE ABLE TO MAKE WHATEVER CHOICE THEY WANT, FEEL COMFORTABLE IN ANY ENVIRONMENT, HAVE NO STIGMA TO CHOOSE NOT TO CONSUME ALCOHOL OR CONSUME ALCOHOL, ATHLETIC WAS AT THE HELM OF A REAL SEA CHANGE IN THE INDUSTRY, AND SOON ENOUGH, DOZENS MORE BREWERIES WERE JUMPING ON BOARD. THERE’S NOW OVER 100 BRANDS IN THE COUNTRY, AND NONALCOHOLIC BEER, WHERE THERE ARE PROBABLY LESS THAN TEN. WHEN WE STARTED THINKING ABOUT 20 YEARS FROM NOW, MY SON GOES INTO A BAR AND HE JUST TURNS 21 AND IT WON’T BE THAT BIG OF AN EVENT BECAUSE HE WILL HAVE GROWN UP IN A MORE SOCIALLY AWARE AND RESPONSIBLE DRINKING CULTURE. I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT. BUT IT’S BEEN AMAZING TO BE PART OF. AN NATICK BREWING TELLS US THEY ARE NOW THE 10TH LARGEST CRAFT BREWING COMPANY, AND THE 20TH LARGEST BREWING COMPANY OVERALL IN THE UNITED STATES. AT WHOLE FOODS. IT’S THE TOP SELLING BEER IN BOTH ALCOHOLIC AND AND NONALCOHOLIC CATEGORIES, AND BACK TO DRE DRINKS A PORTION OF THE STORE SALES GOES TO A NONPROFIT THAT FUNDS LOCAL ADDICTION RECOVERY CAUSES. THEY TELL US THEY PLAN TO ANNOUNCE SOME ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS SOON. STILL AHEAD, ACT